Less Than Human
by Another Second Account
Summary: He could only enjoy her touch on a single area, the one piece of him that was still human. He hadn't felt the need to curse his steel casing of a body until she came along. She deserved someone that could savor her touch, someone she could feel warmth from instead of cold steel. She deserved someone human, he was less than that. Frobin romance/fluffy angst


"Mm.", he hummed in satisfaction as he felt Robin's soft hands slide over his back, her nails gently raking across the sensitive area; one of the only ones he still had. She straddled his lower back as he laid on his stomach, letting her massage him after the long day he had spent in the workshop finishing up his plans for a motorcycle they would be able to take out on the next island they arrived at. The thought of the beautiful archaeologist hanging tight around him as he drove, or better yet having her in front so he could watch the slight smile on her face as they traveled was more than a little tempting. "Ow, you're super good at this, Nico Robin.", he moaned as she worked on a particularly tight knot. The hours he had spent hunched over his worktable designing the sleek vehicle and compiling the necessary parts had been rough on his back, not that he minded with the reward of his labor so clear in his head. Having the lovely woman he daydreamed about riding it with offering to work the kinks out with her delicate hands didn't hurt his motivation either.

"Fufufu, I've had lots of practice with my hands, Franky-san.", giggled the woman, making the cyborg blush at the innuendo as well as feeling her body rub against his bare skin as she laughed. He smiled as he felt her lips make contact, slowly trailing down his spine as her hands roamed.

"I could return the favor for you before bed, Babe.", he said as he shifted onto his back, trying to give off a smooth cockiness he knew she could see right through. Her effect on him was unique he thought, as he stared up at her. Her presence excited him, but in a weary sort of way. He fully trusted her, knew she was nothing like the demon the world painted her to be, but her sultry stares and teasing touches were able to disarm him and heat his body all to easily. He had to be careful to keep things even, to make her squirm just as much. He dragged his large hands down her sides making her shiver before resting them on her hips so he could play with the hem of her lacy panties. "This week's me is feeling super after all!", he added excitedly.

"Fufufu, I've noticed.", she giggled, leaning down to kiss his lips this time, her voluptuous chest pressing against the solid steel of his own. "I think you might shatter all of my bones though if I were to let you massage me."

There it was, the impassable barrier that would forever separated them. Sometimes he cursed the body he had, the one that put up barriers between them that he couldn't breach regardless of what he did. He had knew it would be different, harder, when he made the changes to himself while they were apart. This body just served to encapsulate how different they truly were, how much less of a human he had become that day he had fought the Sea Train. He wasn't the type of man to have regrets or pity himself now after meeting the Straw Hats and finding happiness with the blue-eyed archaeologist though. No, that wasn't his super self; not that he was feeling too super at the moment. This body could keep her safe from a world that sought to take her away from him if nothing else, that had to count for something.

Even if it meant sacrificing what little humanity his form had held so that he could only feel her body; the softness of her breasts, the silkiness of her hair, the warmth of her skin on the planes of his back. That was the only part of him that was still human. He couldn't make her tremble with gentle touches like another man could, he couldn't even feel when he was touching her. She was human, alive; he was something less. His hands were formed to take out enemies, to dismantle ships, and to build. He couldn't expect them to comfort the woman in his bed like ones of flesh and blood could. His body was steel, loaded with weapons and flowing with cola instead of blood; he didn't give off the warmth she did. He found it bitterly ironic that she made him feel more human, more alive than anything else and yet her very presence was a constant reminder of how he no longer was.

He tried to play the part as best he could. He would tease her, pinching her butt as they did the dishes, brushing his hand against her cheek as he past her lawn chair, and letting her sit in his lap as she read and he tinkered with new inventions. Anything to try and mimic what flesh was capable of. He made sure he never hurt her though, even when that meant not catching a wink of sleep some nights while she snuggled against his monstrous frame for fear of accidentally crushing her. It was a small price to pay for all she gave him and endured for his sake. She even went as far as to entertain his childish wants, rarely questioning his seemingly odd requests of her. She was the epitome of elegance and maturity, yet would willingly let him give her piggyback rides as they wandered around new islands together, the uninhabited parts anyway. That was the only way he could give back even a fraction of that which he took from her, the only way he could truly feel her like he so desired. The only part he didn't have to worry about hurting her with unlike how he had to constantly be careful with his massive hands when he touching her. Always making sure his metal grip didn't made her wince as he touched her and opting for pulling her against his scarred chest as opposed to risking bracing himself over her. Not that she seemed to care in the slightest; yet another odd piece to wonderful puzzle he had discovered was Nico Robin. She kissed him fervently as if he were any ordinary man as opposed to a seven something foot tall cyborg. Her raven colored hair falling over his face, a black curtain separating them from the rest of the world for that split second as he tasted the unique floral scent she emitted and a hint of the bitter drink she always seemed to have on hand. It was the only taste he had found that was more satisfying than cola.

He thought back to earlier in the day when he had thrown her over his shoulder in the middle of their shopping when she had gotten too playful with him. Teasing him with her low-cut top and impossibly tight shorts, all the while sneaking pinches to his rear when the others were distracted. He had finally had enough, his internal systems more than likely overheating from the stimulation when he had rushed out an excuse for them to head back to the ship. He had stomped around the corner waiting impatiently for the devilish tease to come waltzing behind him, out of sight of their nakama, with a proud smirk on her face when he decided to catch her off guard. As soon as she had neared him, he had grabbed her waist, tossing her over his shoulder and then steadying her with his metallic hand on the small of her back. Thinking about it now, he was quite fortunate she hadn't pulled another stunt like she had at Water Seven after he high-tailed it back to the Sunny with her in tow, even daring to swat her bottom when she had halfheartedly protested the arrangement. He was even more lucky that he hadn't bruised or broken her in his haste.

In the heat of the moment it was easy to forget their differences, like the fact that she could feel much, much more than him as they came together. Every muted sensation he got from her body drove him crazy, every touch and kiss as she pressed impossibly closer to him an agonizingly sweet prick to his senses. He could only imagine how super it would be with an actual human body. That was where his mind normally ended up afterwards as she happily caught her breath, laying against him as if he held any sort comfort.

"Franky." Her gentle voice pulled him out of his thoughts. He focused his eyes that must have been staring blankly up at her for some time if the concern in her azure orbs was any indication.

"Oi, what is it, Nico Robin? You need your Super Franky for something?", he asked leaning his head up to place a kiss on the flat surface of her stomach. "I aim to please my Super Archaeologist.", he added.

"What were you thinking about just now?", she asked plainly, cutting straight through his bravado to the heart of the issue as usual.

"It's nothing.", he laughed. "Just a little spacey from the long day and having such a beautiful woman all over me."

"Fufufu, flattery won't get you out of this, Franky-san.", giggled Robin, amused by the outlandish behavior before sobering back up with concern for the man.

"Fine, fine, you win. Like normal.", he added under his breath. He gently lifted her off of him, setting her down on his massive mattress before rising to his feet. "You deserve someone better than me. Someone who you don't have to worry about crushing you. Someone who doesn't make you constantly have to feel steel instead of skin when you touch their body, and that can actually feel every move you make when you're with them. You deserve someone human.", he said, turning to face her once again. "I can't be that for you."

"I don't recall ever complaining that you can't, or that I believe you are less than human.", replied the dark-haired woman as she slid off the huge bed. "I knew who you were when I fell in love with you Franky, and even with the changes that these last two years have brought, you are still the same man.", she continued stepping closer to him, her chest pressing against his lower abs. He blushed as she laid her head against his chest, her hands sliding over his bare torso as she finished speaking. "You are far from the monster you think your body makes you, Franky. That thump I can hear through the steel casing, that's your heartbeat. The thing keeping you alive, the part that proves you're still just as human in this body as the one you were born into the world with, I can feel it."

"R-Robin."

"It a lovely sound. One I have become quite accustomed to falling asleep to in fact. The steady rhythm is very...comforting to me.", she added with a smile as she felt tears begin to drip onto her head. "Those are very much human as well, Franky-san. Perhaps a little too much so."

"Oh, Nico Robin. You're so freaking super.", he cried, picking her up and hugging her tight against him. "I super love you, you know that. R-Robin.", he wailed, repeatedly kissing the top of her head as she giggled in his arms. "You're the best."

"Yes, yes, thank you. Now would you mind setting me back down, I'd rather not go to bed with tear-soaked hair and undergarments if you don't mind.", she said teasingly as she gently stroked his shaved head.

"Right, sorry.", he apologized, setting her back on her feet as he wiped furiously at his eyes. "Not that I was crying or anything."

"Of course. Now shall we return to bed?", she asked.

"You bet."

"Good, but one thing first."

"Oh yeah?", he asked excitedly. He smirked at his girlfriend quickly rose to his height with the help of her phantom legs blooming below her own. "I love you too, Franky.", she said quietly before leaning in to steal a kiss. He felt her lean away all too quickly, but chased after her, catching her around the middle before she could sink back down and firmly planting his lips against her own. He shifted his hand lower, giving her backside a playful squeeze that had her moaning into his mouth before he pulled back for breath.

"Ow, that was super cute, Nico Robin, and sexy.", he said happily, finally letting her down.

"Fufufu, you are quite the turn on as well, Franky-san.", she replied, following him towards his bed. He put his leg on the mattress, making to climb up and move to the far side so she could lay down beside him. Robin took the opportunity to pay him back as he was bent over on the bed however, her hand coming forward to spank the man's sensitive rear though his thin navy speedo.

"Ow, Nico Robin! What was that for?", asked the indignant cyborg, looking over his shoulder at her.

"Retribution for carrying me like a bag of potatoes through town and doing the same in public.", she answered calmly, lying down on her side of the bed.

"You started that!"

"Yes, but no one saw me doing it."

"What's the matter? Afraid of someone seeing the cool, mysterious Nico Robin blushing like a schoolgirl because her super boyfriend spanked her sweet bottom?", he asked, his face just inches from hers as he spoke.

"I seem to recall you being the one that ran off with a red face, Franky.", she said cockily.

"I guess we'll have to change that.", he said breathlessly, his lips hovering just above hers.


End file.
